Amelia chewed her lower lip. “It felt awkward. Horrible. Like I had three heads.”
Jennifer chuckled. “I guess I understand that.”
“It didn’t make me want to run out and find another person to date if that’s what you want to know,” Amelia said, picking off an olive and popping it into her mouth.
“I’m not pestering you,” Jennifer said, although her eyes glittered, as though Amelia had hurt her. “I just care about you. And I know you have a lot of love to give.”
Amelia collected the plates and walked toward the kitchen, where she placed them at the bottom of the sink. It had always been apparent that her sisters thought she lived a smaller, less-than existence, as she had never been in love or had children.
Jennifer followed her into the kitchen, seemingly prepared to apologize. But Amelia just waved her hand, proof it wasn’t necessary. As Jennifer searched out the ice cream in the freezer, Amelia texted Mandy. She hadn’t heard from her since the day of the basketball game, which wasn’t like her. Even when Amelia had texted to say her date had been “kind of a dud,” Mandy hadn’t followed up. Mandy, at eighteen years old, was one of the nosiest people Amelia knew. Something was amiss.
AMELIA: Mandy! Hey! Do you have plans for lunch tomorrow?
Mandy texted back almost immediately. This was confusing, also. A popular cheerleader wasn’t the kind of girl to be stuck at home on a Friday, checking her text messages.
MANDY: Nope.
This one-word response also turned Amelia’s stomach. Normally, Mandy texted her with non-stop heart emojis and exclamation marks.
AMELIA: Want to meet at Nancy’s? Around one?
Jennifer placed the carton of ice cream on the counter. “You look worried.”
Amelia chuckled. “That’s just what my face looks like. I need a facial from Mila, stat.”
“Come on, Amelia. You’d tell me if something was really off, right? This guy from Boston, he’s just a typical player. Think of it as a fun time. Nothing more. You’re absolutely entitled to one and to not feel ashamed afterward. He should consider himself lucky.”
“I know. But we aren’t used to that, are we? That type of thing.”
Jennifer shook her head. “To be honest, I think that kind of thing might have destroyed me, too.”
Jennifer spooned them up bowls of French Vanilla ice cream as Mandy texted back.
MANDY: Sure. See you there.
THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON, Amelia donned a cream-colored dress and a thicker jean jacket, along with a pair of brown boots and some of her trendiest jewelry. It was a Saturday, which meant nobody expected the “business Amelia” and she liked to show off her more fashionable side to Mandy. Somehow, it was proof that she still cared, that she remained youthful and that she hadn’t yet given up even though it seemed increasingly clear that she would never find Mr. Right.
Mandy was a full fifteen minutes late. Again, this wasn’t entirely like her, although Amelia would let it slide. Amelia sipped her ice water and gazed out at the magnificent view of the Nantucket Sound, at the way the early springtime light played out across the waves. How lucky they were to have this island. How lucky they were to live in the midst of this gorgeous, natural environment surrounded by some of the most loving humans on the planet.
People like Nathan Gregory and that other developer, Oliver Krispin, didn’t belong.
“Hey, Aunt Amelia.” Mandy appeared next to the table. She wore a simple, loose-fitting black dress, and her eyes were somber and lined with more charcoal than normal.
Amelia jumped to her feet to hug her. Mandy hardly lifted her arms.
“How does your shoulder feel?” Amelia asked as Mandy gathered herself across the table and opened the menu.
“Hmm? Oh. It’s fine. It pinches from time to time, but nothing major.”
“It’s crazy how flexible you are,” Amelia noted, stealing a glance at her niece. “If anyone else had taken that tumble, they would have shattered into a million pieces.”
“Hmm.”
Mandy had never given off such an aura of coldness. Even as she’d grown beautiful and popular at school, she had always been a welcoming ball of energy to Amelia.
The server arrived to take their orders. Amelia ordered a crab salad, while Mandy went with a lobster bisque. They also ordered rolls for the table. Mandy passed over her menu and then turned her eyes out toward the water. It was really profound how beautiful she was. She looked a lot like her mother, Suzy, although Amelia never brought that up.
“I should tell you more about my date the other night,” Amelia said suddenly. Maybe this was how she could connect with her?
“Oh. Right.”
“He was so full of himself,” Amelia started. “Very handsome, successful and very used to the whole dating thing. I felt like a fish out of water.”
Mandy nodded somberly. “At least you looked really hot when you left our house.”
Amelia felt a blush creep up her neck. “Thanks for saying that. Actually, it helps a lot.”
“Men only really care about that, anyway,” Mandy said. “So, if you said something dumb or whatever, he isn’t thinking about that.”
Amelia furrowed her brow. “Some men really do care about other things, Mandy.”
“Oh? Have you found one who does?”
The silence stretched between them as the waiter arrived to place the basket of rolls between them. Neither of them touched the bread, even as the salty fragrance steamed over them. Amelia wanted to reference Jennifer’s ex-husband, Joel, or the newly-found Anthony, or even Mila’s husband, now-deceased, Peter. But she had no real experience of her own, and it felt dishonest.
“That’s what I thought,” Mandy said.
Lunch continued on like this for the next forty-five minutes. Each time Amelia tried to bring up a topic they normally discussed like cheerleading, or Mandy’s plans for after graduation, or Mandy’s best friends, or even, heck, whatever had gone on in the world of pop culture the previous week — Mandy brushed it off, shrugged her shoulders, or made some kind of sour comment.
Generally, her mood was: don’t push me. I’m about to burst.
Mandy moved her food around her plate with her fork and then placed it to the side when she’d eaten a few morsels. Her skin looked pale, almost green. Amelia gestured for the server to come with the bill, and she paid hurriedly as they sat together in silence. She’d read many “mother of teenager” blogs about this kind of topic, but she’d hardly ever seen Mandy like this. She felt like a boat without an anchor.
“Do you want to go for a walk along the water?” Amelia heard herself ask. She hated that she sounded like a nervous mother.
Mandy shrugged, but donned her coat, crossed her arms over her chest, and followed Amelia out into the sun. Amelia placed her hand at the top of Mandy’s back as they turned toward the docks. A breeze tilted the sailboats to-and-fro so that the sterns creaked against the boards of the docks.
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” Amelia asked.
Mandy just cleared her throat. Amelia sensed that she wanted to make some kind of excuse and get out of there, but for whatever reason, Mandy remained by her side, still unspeaking. Amelia searched through the back alleys of her mind for some kind of topic—anything.
“That guy, you know, he took me to the Sunrise Cove,” Amelia said. “I don’t think I’ve slept outside of my house with a guy in... well. It’s been a very long time. But I’m terrified the whole island will be up in arms about it sooner than later. The Sheridans definitely spotted me.”
“Hmm,” Mandy offered.
“But I guess they have a lot more to worry about right now,” Amelia continued. Her cheeks burned. “Audrey had her baby, and he’s apparently very sick. I’m sure they hardly saw me when I walked through the foyer.”
Mandy stopped dead on the sidewalk. Amelia bustled ahead for a moment until she realized Mandy had faltered. She turned back, expecting Mandy to be tying her shoe or something.
But instead, Mandy just stood there, her eyes bugged out and her shoulders quivering.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Amelia demanded. She could hear the worry, heavy in her voice. She was done pretending.
Mandy’s upper teeth cut over her lower lip as though she tried to strain against her sobs.
“Mandy. Mandy, honey, do you want to sit down?”
Amelia led Mandy toward the nearest bench. Together, they perched at the edge of it. Mandy’s eyes tore out toward the far horizon, while Amelia kept her eyes on Mandy’s. There was definitely something up.
“I wish you would tell me what’s going on,” Amelia murmured softly. “I told you a long time ago. I’m here for you, no matter what. Remember?”
The first tear rolled down Mandy’s cheek. It reflected the light of the sun.
“I didn’t mean to do it,” she finally whispered.
Amelia’s mind spun to countless options — a failed test? A fight with another student? What?
Mandy pressed her fingers against her eyes and exhaled. “I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to say you went to all that trouble to talk to me about it for nothing. You’re going to say —”
“Hey. Don’t put words in my mouth,” Amelia said. Her words were gentle yet firm. “Just tell me what’s going on. And we can figure it out together.”
Mandy dropped her fingers to reveal red-tinged eyes. After a long, horrible stretch of silence, she finally said, “I’m pregnant.”
Amelia’s heart sank, albeit just the slightest bit. She reached forward, gripped both of Mandy’s hands, and didn’t allow an extra second of emptiness to pass. Mandy let out the first of what would be many sobs.
“Hey. Hey, Mandy. It’s okay.” Amelia placed her hand on Mandy’s hair and brought the girl’s head against her shoulder. “Mandy, really.”
“I’m so sorry. I let you down. I let everyone down.” Mandy’s voice was hardly heard beyond her cries. “And now, I have no idea what to do. I can’t tell Dad. He’ll kill me. And oh my, God, what about college? I haven’t even picked a school. I —”
But Amelia pressed her hand a bit harder on the girl’s forehead. “Shhh,” she exhaled. “Mandy, listen to me. Listen. For just a minute, okay?”
Slowly, Mandy calmed herself just enough so that she could hear.
“When your dad found out your mom was pregnant with you, he came to my office. He was white as a sheet. I thought he was going to faint. He told me he wasn’t sure if he was ready. He told me he’d always wanted to be a father but that he had never actually seen himself in the role. He was afraid he would mess everything up.
“But now, look at him, Mandy. Look at your dad. You’d never know that, would you? When you were born, he carried you around so proudly. He took to it like that.” She snapped her fingers. “And every single moment since you first came into this world, he’s been your dad first, and everything else second.”
Mandy blinked her big, beautiful, tear-filled eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you’ll be the same. You’ll step up to the plate. You’ll feel more love for this baby than you even knew you had in you. And this moment, here on the docks right now? This moment of fear? It will feel like a distant memory.”
“I hope you’re right, Aunt Amelia,” Mandy murmured softly. “I really do.”
Chapter Eight
“Just another manic Monday,” Amelia breathed as she tossed her head back, gripped the steering wheel, and eased herself back toward city hall. It had been a trying weekend, to say the least, and now it had vomited her up on yet another Monday morning, somehow a full week after her dramatic accident and one-night stand. With a funny jolt in her gut, she realized she still hadn’t had her front light fixed. There had simply been too much going on.
Throughout the weekend, Mandy had pleaded with Amelia to give her a few more weeks to think before they told her father the news. Amelia had to respect her wishes, although she hated hiding this news from her brother. The previous evening, as they’d all gathered for pizza and movies, Daniel had again thanked her for all her efforts in the “mom department” as they had stood in the kitchen together alone. She’d blushed and wondered if this was a kind of betrayal.
But she couldn’t betray Mandy, above all. It was her body. It was her baby.
When Amelia arrived at city hall, she greeted her secretary warmly and added, “Great that I’m not late, huh? Considering I was late twice last week. Pretty good record.”
“Actually, Ms. Taylor, you should know...” Clara began, just as Amelia pushed open her office door.
There, seated across from her normal chair, was Oliver Krispin. Amelia’s heart jumped into her throat, and her mind spun with a strange mix of anger and then intrigue. In all her years, nobody had just come into her office without an appointment. It took a great amount of confidence. Or, in the case of Oliver Krispin, a good deal of arrogance and a lack of respect for other people’s time and space.
“Mr. Krispin. What a surprise,” Amelia said as she flared her nostrils.
Oliver stood and unbuttoned his suit jacket as though he wanted to show off the clearly expensive buttons and the gorgeous stitching on the pockets. Amelia was a sucker for fine details, although it wasn’t like she’d announce that to him just then. In fact, she would never compliment Oliver Krispin or men like him — ever.
“Good morning, Ms. Taylor. Your secretary mentioned that you have a busy schedule today, so I took the liberty of ensuring I could catch you beforehand.”
Amelia’s heels clacked around the side of the desk. She removed her coat and shook her head the slightest bit so that her curls erupted down her shoulders. If she wasn’t mistaken, Oliver caught every motion of her hips, her hair, and her shoulders.
Good. Maybe she wanted him to check her out, just the slightest bit before she crushed him.
“And what do you think you’d do, Mr. Krispin, had I broken into your office before your jam-packed schedule ahead?” Amelia asked.
Oliver’s eyes glittered. He placed a folder on the desk before her and gestured. “You can find all the relevant paperwork right in this file. All the permits. Everything. I want to be able to break ground on the project by the end of March.”
“So you decided to ignore my question?” Amelia asked with a hearty laugh. “Bold.”
“Think of it this way, Amelia,” Oliver said. “That is if I can call you Amelia.”
“You cannot.”
“Well, then, Ms. Taylor. Think of it this way. If you look at those permits and approve me right now, then the two of us won’t have to see one another very much moving forward. You can go on with all your bland Edgartown rituals, and I can break ground on something truly profound, something that will revolutionize the clientele of Martha’s Vineyard over the next few years.”
“You say that as though we have a bad reputation,” Amelia said haughtily. “And we don’t.”
“Of course you don’t,” Oliver reassured her. “I wish only to add to that. To make it flourish.”
Amelia detested this man. She hated the vibrant spark of his green eyes, and the way he wore his suit, and the confident, beautiful smile across his lips. But he was right: if she approved his permits now, they could step out of one another’s way, and she would have more time to devote to the island and the people she cared about the most.
“I’ll look over your permits,” Amelia said somberly. “But I don’t have long. And if there’s anything the slightest bit out of order, know that you’ll have to re-do it and set up a formal meeting with me later on, at a time that I agree to. Is that clear?”
“Crystal,” Oliver replied, his nostrils flared.
Amelia sat at the edge of her desk chair and began to read over the various permits and documents. Throughout, Oliver placed his right foot over his left knee and seemed hyper-focused on her. Occasionally, Amelia glanced up to catch those big, earnest green eyes, full-on glaring at her. It was almost like he wanted to intimidate her u
ntil she agreed to let him go.
Much of the paperwork was exactly correct. In fact, Amelia marveled that he’d gotten so much of it correct.
But as she neared the final end of the stack, her heart thudded with excitement.
He had really thought he’d gotten away with something. He had really thought she wouldn’t notice, what with all the other papers to inspect.
Slowly, she lifted her chin and closed the folder. She couldn’t help it: she smirked at him.
“Mr. Krispin, I regret to inform you that you’re missing a very important document.”
Oliver arched his brow. “Everything’s in there. Everything you told me you needed.”
“That’s not true,” she corrected him. “And the fact that you didn’t think I would notice is something of an insult to me.”
“I haven’t tried to get anything past you,” Oliver scoffed.
“And yet, you’ve completely left out the paper that explains where exactly you plan to build. It states here in your introduction paragraph that you wish to build on the land on the southern edge of the island. Much of that area is both historic and preserved, which means the where of it all is much more important.”
Oliver leaned forward ominously. He placed his hands beneath his chin and clucked his tongue.
“I see you’re beginning to remember that you forgot that very important document, aren’t you?” Amelia said with the slightest hint of sarcasm. “How dreadful. I guess you won’t be able to start that late-March build, after all.”
“The money this development would bring to your island is astronomical,” Oliver replied, his voice low. “You would really give up on that? For a bit of preserved land? Look around this place! There’s preserved land everywhere you look!”
Amelia snapped the folder on the desk. “You know why it’s all around us? Because people like me protect it from men like you. That’s why.”
Oliver stood in a huff. His cheeks were blotchy. He reached for the folder of papers, but before he could grip them, Amelia tossed them in the trash. He balked at her as she crossed her arms over her chest.
37 Peases Point Way Page 5
